Courage
by LightStars
Summary: It was supposed to be a normal year. A normal year where demigods lived in peace- until murders of the children of the Big Three continue to happen. One girl in the midst of all of this will be forced to try to survive as she faces death, but she cares about saving her friends as well. Will she succeed in this? Or will she fail like everyone else? (Rated T for violence)
1. Prologue

**Hello!**

 **First fanfic here, but if you have a very sensitive stomach, you might want to stop when we're talking about the death of someone. Please, it is recommended.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent or PJO.**

 **Enjoy! :D**

* * *

Prologue

 _There were many articles found after the rebellion of the demigods, and most of them were sent to the Office of Experiments for investigation. Here are all of the articles found on deaths, as well as a journal entry written by Mr. McGarr._

* * *

 _This article was found in Annabeth Chase's office, on top of her table, and right next to the picture of her dead husband, Percy Jackson._

 **The Chicago Experiment**

History

The Chicago Experiment was meant to control demigods and other children of titans and monsters in order to protect the rest of the world. The Purity War was started between the children and legacies of the Big Three, and they fought against the mortals and the other children of the gods.

What happened was that one of the Big Three (Thalia Grace) secretly injected genes into people in order to "help" them with certain traits. Many witnesses said that she was "not herself" at that time, and her eyes seemed to be golden. When Grace did this every night for almost 3 years, people found out and fought against her, as more monsters began to take over the children of the Big Three, except for Percy Jackson who they had an issue with many years ago. However, there are only a few children of the gods, as well as a small amount of the mortals, who had perfect genes.

This gene issue became a war. The Big Three side (who were joined by the Titans) was led by Grace, who was most likely controlled by an eidolon at that time, considering the fact that she had golden eyes. Meanwhile, the other side was led by Jackson, who did not want to separate from his wife, Annabeth Chase.

After many deaths of demigods, as well as Grace and Jackson, Chase decided to protect the demigods who were part of the war with a memory serum that she created with the help of the gods. She sent the demigods to separate cities, and put them into factions, or just as a regular city. She wiped their memories and replaced them with new ones. New ones that involved teamwork and factions. New ones that involved dangers beyond the fence, even though there were none. She added a few mortals to the experiments, to allow them to reproduce and to create demigods.

* * *

Factions

Chase gave them five factions to help categorize them with their abilities they had inherited from their parents, who were most likely the gods.

 **Abnegation-** Selflessness is required for this faction.

 **Amity-** Kindness is required for this faction, as well as being peaceful.

 **Candor-** Being honest is required for this faction.

 **Dauntless-** Being brave is required for this faction.

 **Erudite-** Knowing and learning from research is required for this faction.

* * *

Factionless

The factionless are usually the Big Three children; the children who are known as Divergent and can fit into many categories.

The factionless can also be the children of demigods, mortals, and just demigods, but they are usually children of the gods, and not legacies. The factionless are usually helpless, since they are not part of the factions, and they are considered "helpless". Chase has tried to change this many times, but she only got the Abnegation to help the factionless.

* * *

 _This journal was found in a cozy office in Erudite that belonged to Matthew McGarr, who was found dead._

This is my last day.

They're coming for me; they know who I am. I might as well spill it out here.

I am a son of Zeus. It took a truth serum and a heck lot before I was able to say that to my attackers. They say that they are the Dissidents. I believe their goal has something to do with our factions, but they told me that it was for revenge.

I am a 35-year-old man, and if I am dead, the children of the other gods came for me. They wanted me dead, and they are angry. I don't know why they are angry- they muttered something about death and genes, and everything confusing.

It is 10:07 PM right now. They promised to come for me at 12:00AM. Exactly, too. I don't want to die. I want to stay alive. But if I run, they'll go for my family. And I can't afford that. No; my daughter's only 14- she'll be scared out of her mind. My wife is Athena: they'll go for her if I decide to be a coward and run. But I don't want to die. I have to stay; no, I need to stay.

I want to protect her. But I think I'll have to leave her with Athena, who is most likely very busy. But she is already a problem for a lot of people: she has dyslexia and ADHD, and it looks really bad when compared to the other faction members.

I'm not excited about this. But I don't think she is either.

But I know my attackers are.

Goodbye, and a very happy birthday to me.

* * *

 _This was the Certificate of Death of Matthew McGarr, as well as more information and the results of the investigation._

Death

Name: Matthew McGarr  
Age: 35  
Gender: Male  
Former Faction: Abnegation  
Current Faction: Erudite  
Status (Divergent?): Divergent - Erudite, Abnegation, Amity  
Spouse: Athena  
Daughter: Emily McGarr  
Parents: Zeus; Alice McGarr  
Death: Multiple stab wounds to the torso; burned hair, skin, and clothing

Investigation

Matthew McGarr's body was found in the middle of the lobby of Erudite Headquarters, with burn marks around him, and a pillowcase on his head. The estimated time of death is 2:25 AM.

McGarr was found with his bloodstained red shirt, and there were many knife stabs, as well as the actual weapon in his hand, indicating suicide. However, his shirt was also burned, but it was not destroyed.

Based on weapons that were found surrounding him, he was probably killed by more than one person. There were also bruises and cuts on him, and, by the looks of it, he was crying when this happened based on stains on his face.

The pillowcase read, "We have not avenged him yet."

Recent searches brought us to the journal entry on his office desk, which suggested that there are demigods out there who are out to destroy us. Perhaps Miss Chase will do something to help us all.

* * *

 _This was from an interview with Miss Chase._

Interviewer: What do you think they meant by "We have not avenged him yet."?

Annabeth Chase: "We have not avenged him yet."

I know who "him" is. But why did they take the lives of the Big Three? Is it to avenge my Percy? But is all this death necessary?

I will ask mother to help Emily McGarr. They will most likely come for her when she is older, because after they wipe out the children, they will wipe out the legacies. And besides, they are going to start a new war. A war that I may not be able to control. I want them under control. I am afraid for the children of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. They may be unable to escape this new threat. And by the looks of it, their deaths will be very painful.

And I don't want that.

* * *

 _Two weeks later, in the newspaper. This was the only copy ever made._

 **TWELVE DEAD, ELEVEN INJURED AS AMOUNT OF ATTACKS INCREASE** by Elizabeth Couron

After the death of Matthew McGarr, attacks and murders similar began to increase in numbers. There is a long list of victims, and many of them are now stressed out, or mentally weak. Emily McGarr, daughter of the first victim of these attacks, states, "We must work together to fight this threat. Our factions are meant to protect each other; maybe that's what we need right now."  
Members of the Dauntless community has been sent to protect the ones who are threatened. There has been a one day peace period, but we do not know if any other events will threaten out factions. The investigation has led us to nothing. We do not know who is responsible for these attacks, nor do we know who is causing these attacks. We believe that this group, the Dissidents, plan on destroying all of the Big Three.  
And we can't have

 _The rest of the newspaper was burned. Elizabeth Couron was found dead the next day._

* * *

 _Finally, the last piece of evidence- a note from the Dissidents._

We believe that we should have never been treated poorly.

We believe that we should have been treated kindly.

We believe that it is our job to protect Perseus Jackson, even after death.

We believe that it is our job to make everyone but our enemies happy.

We believe that all demigods who went against us shall be dead.

We believe that death is the only way we can solve this issue.

We believe that you will all join us.

We believe.

Do you?

* * *

 **Aha- so the mystery begins! :D**

 **Reviews are welcome, and if you're getting a little creeped out, the next chapter may be a little less...uh...disturbing, but it will start focusing more on our main character and the aptitude test instead of this murder thing.**

 **Alright! See you!**

 **~LightStars**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One begins! I recommend that you forget about the last chapter, since this only has some tiny connections with it. Especially with the death investigation thing.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Divergent.**

* * *

Chapter One

Sunlight streamed through the window, and the light seemed to make one girl shine brighter than the others. This girl was in the cafeteria, sitting down, her blonde hair in tangles, but shimmering at the same time. She had slightly tanned skin and stormy gray eyes that analyzed every detail in the room. One of her hands were in her pocket of her blue Erudite jacket, while the other hand was pushing up a pair of glasses to prevent it from sliding down. She was sitting casually, with her legs crossed, but she was bouncing up and down like she wanted to get up and run out the nearest door.

Her name was Emily McGarr, and she was being targeted.

Of course, sitting in a room filled with people who wanted to kill her wasn't going to make her happy, but she was sitting next to her Dauntless friends, who would pretty much give up their lives for her. Heck, even some of the Amity would punch a guy in the face for her.

She waited as more and more people went to take the aptitude test, which was a test that determined the faction(s) that one belonged to. Of course, she knew that she would get Erudite and something else, since her grandfather was Zeus. Well, both of her grandfathers were Zeus, which made everything fairly confusing.

To make it worse, today was her father's birthday. It's been two years since her father died, and it was sad. Like... she wanted to curl up into a ball and cry.

However, she was surrounded by people who considered her a hero, and it would be upsetting for them if she cried, even though she didn't know why. But she had to stay strong. _Stay strong, Emily,_ she thoug

* * *

ht, _This will be over soon. All you need to do is run as soon as you're finished with your test..._

"From Erudite: Emily McGarr and Tina Palumbo." an Abnegation volunteer said. Emily, distracted, looked up as she stood up, not even hearing the rest of the names. She pushed her glasses one last time as her fellow Erudite friend giggled and asked, "You really like doing that, do you?"

"Doing what?" Emily replied, turning around, now focused.

"The pushing up your glasses thing." Tina answered. "You seem to always do it."

And she did always do it. She did it when she was nervous, angry, afraid, or thinking. Which was pretty much all the time.

"I guess so." she said as they walked down a hallway with the other initiates. After a walk down the long hallway, they ended up standing in front of a door, waiting for the door to open. As soon as the doors opened, Emily held her head up high and walked in.

She was greeted by an Abnegation volunteer, a tall male with a tattoo that was on his arm. He had short, black hair and dark brown eyes that scared her for some reason. She didn't know why, but she continued to study him. He looked like he was pretty fit and strong, which was interesting, considering that he was not Dauntless (although he used to be Dauntless).

"Hello." he said politely. His voice was deep, but it was gentle at the same time. "My name is Hunter. Take a seat in the chair and relax. You look nervous."

Emily didn't realize that she was holding her breath in until now, when she released her breath. However, she did notice that she was sweating all over. _Is he trustworthy? Or is he just some idiot that wants to kill me?_

Of course, she didn't say that out loud; that would be a very, very dumb thing to do. But she took a seat without saying a word, trying to relax. Hunter took a vial out of a box, and he handed it to Emily, who took it reluctantly. "It's not poison, is it?" Emily asked, nearly cursing for asking such a idiotic question. Of course it wasn't poison: it was a test, and poison would mean that when people turned 16, they would get poisoned and die. Because that made sense.

Hunter laughed, although it didn't sound like a real laugh. It sounded like a laugh that people would give when they thought that kids were ridiculous and they should be taught the rules of common sense. "Of course not. Just drink it."

"What will happen?"

He smirked. "I can't say. Just drink it."

She wanted to yell at him for smirking- she didn't know, and her Erudite curiosity was beginning to take over. But she closed her eyes and drank the entire vial before drifting into unconsciousness.

* * *

She opened her eyes and found herself in an empty school cafeteria, where sunlight was still streaming in. However, it was all clean and by the looks of it, nobody was here. The first thought that entered her mind?

 _I'm dead. That stupid man poisoned me._

That wasn't true. But she noticed two baskets in front of her: one containing a block of cheese, and the other containing a fairly sharp knife. She walked toward it, curious. And then there was that voice.

"Choose."

She turned around, hoping to see some other living thing besides her and some random bacteria. But there was nobody. She turned around, and heard the voice again, saying the exact same word. "Choose."

 _Hm... If it's telling me to choose, it's not telling me to choose one. So should I choose..._

"Choose!" the voice yelled. Emily rolled her eyes in disgust and chose both items. "There! I chose! Is there a problem with what I chose?" she yelled back.

There was no response, but the baskets in front of her disappeared without a puff of smoke or anything else special, and she was met by a growling, drooling dog. The dog was most likely a bloodhound, with drool dripping from its mouth to the floor. It was growling quietly, but it seemed louder than everything else in the world. Emily pushed up her glasses nervously and remembered something.

 _Look away from the dog. Nothing will happen if you do. If you do look at the dog, trouble awaits._

So Emily closed her eyes and hoped that the dog wouldn't bite her leg off. That would be painful, but she would have that nice sharp knife to stab the dog. Well, if it decided that she looked very tasty. She took a deep breath as she felt the breath of the dog on her legs, and then...

A whimper. It was louder than the growling, and she felt a droplet of drool on her feet, which was followed by another one, and another...

She finally opened her eyes and saw the dog, its tongue sticking out, and its tail wagging as soon as it received attention from Emily. It gave a bark as Emily bent down and smiled. "You're not that bad, aren't you? You're just...a test..."

And then she heard the voice. "Puppy!" a high pitched voice yelled. Emily immediately stood up as the bloodhound let out a loud bark and began to run to the girl. "No!" Emily heard someone yell, before realizing that she was the one who yelled.

She ran as fast as she could, before realizing that she wasn't fast enough. "Gods- this is horrible!" Emily muttered, taking the knife and throwing it at the bloodhound. She saw the dog fall onto the ground as the knife went into it, and she saw droplets of blood on the floor before she fell through the ground and landed on a bus.

This was the city bus, filled with people from different factions. They didn't even seem to notice that she fell onto the floor of the bus. In fact, it looked like the driver didn't even care about her. They all looked like they were dead.

Except for one person. A man, who looked factionless. He had a beard and hair with gray streaks in it, and he was holding a newspaper. Maybe without the hair and the beard he would look like a normal, young man, but this ruined it all. The newspaper showed a picture of a person who looked familiar, but Emily couldn't describe how he looked. It was hard... he looked familiar but different at the same time, so she didn't say anything.

"Do you know this man?" a voice said. She turned around, before realizing that the man with the beard and the gray hair was the one who spoke to her. She glanced at the newspaper and said, "No, I don't know him." She made the lie sound as normal as she could, even though she could hear that she was speaking in a much higher voice than before.

The man glared at her and said, "You know him. I can see it in your eyes. I can see it!" He nearly yelled the last sentence.

"No, I don't." Emily said, keeping her voice steady. "I don't."

"Yes, you do!" the man yelled.

"No, I'm sorry, but I don't!" Emily said, now yelling.

The man grabbed her arm, his nails digging into her arm. "You could save me with the truth! You can!"

She shook his arm off and glared at him. "Listen, if I did, I would know his name as well. Listen well, you stupid factionless bastard! You think you're all spec-"

But she decided to wake up at the time before she even finished her little mini speech in the middle of the bus.

* * *

 **Finished! :D Please review- I would appreciate the help with my writing.**

 **Chapter 2 may come out next week, or this week. Although it might be way earlier.**

 **See you soon!  
**

 **-LightStars**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Divergent.**

* * *

Chapter 2

Emily woke up, still covered in sweat as she took short, shallow breaths. She didn't even notice when Hunter whispered, "Calm down, Emily. You didn't hurt anyone. You didn't kill anyone or anything. Calm down."

She killed a dog in the simulation. She couldn't save a man because she decided that it was much better to hide the truth from him. And Hunter had this strange look on his face, like he was remembering something that he should never remember.

"You're his daughter, aren't you?" he whispered, even quieter than before. "You looked exactly like him..."

Emily looked up, now glaring at him. "How do you know?"

Hunter sighed and sat down right next to Emily. "I guess I'll have to tell you your results later. But I was once best friends with your father before he went to Erudite, and I went to Abnegation. We used to secretly play paintball together just for the fun of it. We shared cake most of the times. In fact, your father got a tattoo on his arm when he was drunk. I think it was a dragon or something..."

"So my father was once Dauntless?" Emily asked quietly.

"Yeah, he was." he replied. "And he was a nice man. A brave one as well."

There was silence as Emily asked, "So what's my result?"

"Exactly what I expected it to be. Divergent. A combination of three factions as well." he replied, glad to be talking about something that didn't involve feelings. "Abnegation for saving the little girl, Erudite for quick thinking- especially the beginning-, and Dauntless for being able to fight off the man and stab the dog. But of course you're Divergent- a descendant of two gods. I suppose I will put you down as Erudite to make you happy."

"So is it a good thing?" Emily asked. "Is it a thing that I should be proud of?"

Hunter grimaced as he said, "No, not at all. Divergent most likely means that you are the descendant of one of the Big Three, or..." He paused suddenly, like he didn't want to say anything.

"Or what?" she asked.

"Or a child of a demigod and a god." he continued. He paused, as if he was waiting for Emily to say something.

Emily did have something to say. "What about a mortal and a god?"

"Doesn't work." he explained. "A mortal and god combination creates a regular demigod, but the serum that causes the mortal's genes to change can change everything about the child."

She stood up and pushed up her glasses one last time. "Well, I thank you for test..." She was cut off by Hunter.

"No. You're not leaving yet until you understand this fact." he said sternly. "You will not tell anyone about your Divergence, unless you have a death wish. It must stay a secret- you are the people's hero. You have stayed strong as they tried to kill you. You cannot die."

"Why can't you say their name?" Emily asked.

Hunter froze. Emily stared into his eyes and saw despair, as well as fear. He seemed to break down as he nearly whimpered, "I cannot. I cannot say their name."

"Very well, then." Emily said, standing straighter. "Goodbye."

Hunter began a sentence, but Emily walked out, her imaginary wall forming around her, ignoring everything that was happening around her.

* * *

Emily managed to survive the entire day without breaking down, but the fact that she had to make sure that nobody knew of her Divergence, and that everyone had to know that she didn't inherit Divergence from any of her parents, scared her a bit.

It wasn't scary at first- Emily liked the idea of being special- but after thinking about death and murder and all of that, it was scaring her a bit. Of course, she didn't like thinking about how scary it was. _It isn't scary. It's normal, and in fact, special. You are special._ she kept on thinking. But it didn't help her, at least, until she thought about her father.

 _He wasn't normal, no, he was special. He wasn't scared- he wasn't paranoid about it. He was a wonderful father...and..._

She had a few more blocks to walk. A few more, before she could break down and cry all she wanted. She couldn't afford crying in front of her friend, Tina, who volunteered to be her guard as she walked home.

 _Is this what Divergence means? Being guarded every second?_

It wasn't, but considering the fact that Emily was nervous at that time resulted in this ridiculous thought. She shook her head a bit, and it was just that flash of movement that made Tina turn.

"What happened?"

She shrugged. "I honestly don't know. Life is just... different."

Tina raised an eyebrow. "I was hoping that you were already used to it. I guess not."

"Well, I am." she tried to explain. "But it's just the fact that I see this protection thing in a whole different way now."

"How?" Tina asked, turning so suddenly that her red hair seemed to hit her own face. Her green eyes seemed to be able to see everything in Emily's soul.

"It's the fact that..." Emily began, before looking away. She didn't like it when people looked at her strangely. "I think that if I choose a correct faction, I will be able to protect myself. I don't like how people are trying to protect my life. Can't factions change all that?"

Tina seemed to scoff before saying, "They can. But we have this one last day of protection before you can go off on your own. And then you can forget all about us and go on with your life." She said the last sentence bitterly.

"I won't forget you." Emily replied softly.

"I said you can. I didn't say you will." Tina explained. Emily wanted to reply; she wanted to tell her that she would never forget her. Never, never, never, never, never. But she couldn't find the right words for it.

They continued to walk in silence.

* * *

As soon as Emily got home and closed the door, a woman with a black braid and gray eyes walked to her and smiled gently. She had this red and golden aura surrounding her, making her seem like a true goddess. "Hey, Emily. How was school today?" she asked, her voice stern and gentle at the same time.

"Hi, mom. It was fine. I just have a little issue with the exam." Emily answered. "It's the issue with my Div-"

"Don't say it." Athena, her mother, said quietly, her gentle gray eyes hardening. "It's dangerous, and I would have expected your volunteer to understand that it was dangerous."

"But he did," Emily replied. "He did, and I suppose I am now acting stupid. Perhaps I should just stop talking about my test result." She pushed her glasses up as her mother took it off.

"Don't keep it on." she said. "You look beautiful without it, and you have perfect vision anyways." Emily had to blush, since her mother (as well as a few of her followers) was one of the only ones who has seen her without glasses. There was silence as she was wondering how she could return the affection, before realizing that she had no clue. So she replied with a random question.

"What's for dinner?" she blurted out.

"Leftovers." Athena replied, not even caring that she didn't say anything about thanking her or anything like that. "They're in the microwave, and it's already heated up."

"Thanks, mom." she said. "I'll tell you about my test later."

"Don't." Athena said. "It's your choice. You deserve to think about it. I will not influence you; I will not."

"But-" she began.

Emily was cut off with a stubborn Athena. "No," she said. "You have your own choice. I do not need to listen."

"In that case, I will think about my decision before eating." Emily replied softly. "And then I shall train."

So she did.

* * *

 **Slightly shorter than the other chapters, but I believe this is good enough. It's a bit all over the place, but it will get more and more focused as soon as the next chapter begins. At least, I hope so.**

 **Also, did I upload too much?**

 **See you soon!**

 **-LightStars**


	4. Chapter 3

**We shall continue. This chapter may be a bit boring for some people, but if you want to read it, it is about the Choosing Ceremony, as well as the morning of the Ceremony.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 3

 _She felt a hand on her arm, and the hand was cold. In fact, it seemed freezing. Nothing about it seemed human as she turned around and glanced at it. It was all blue, and its fingernails were covered with a thin layer of blood. As she turned around even more to see who was holding her arm, she saw someone that she thought she would never see again._

 _"Dad," she whispered. His skin was slightly blue, and he was covered in blood, but he had the same blonde hair and gray eyes. His mouth was in a thin line, and he looked stern, but worried at the same time._

 _As soon as she said, "Dad", he began to disappear. His hand crumbled to dust, and Emily cried in dismay and anger as she tried to pick up the dust, hoping that her father would come back. However, he was now dust, and Emily was in the middle of it, sobbing._

 _Emily noticed that someone was laughing in the background, and she stopped sobbing as she turned around and around in order to look for the person who was laughing at her. However, that was unnecessary, since he was right behind her. No, he was not right behind her-_ they _were._

 _She glared at them with fury. One of them was a male with shimmering black hair and cruel green eyes, and he reminded her of Hunter, because he did look a bit like Hunter. He was tall and well built, and he was wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of black pants. Meanwhile, a girl with nearly white hair and hazel eyes was wearing a blue jacket and a skirt as well. They were laughing like they were seeing something ridiculous._

 _"Stop!" Emily yelled. "Stop, please!" They continued to laugh, but this time, the laughter seemed to be all around her._

 _At that time, a deep voice said, "Do you think they will stop so easily? These are my two leaders; they are my strongest. It will take more than pleading to make them stop." The voice sent chills down her back._

 _"I'm not talking about the laughter! I'm talking about my father!" Emily yelled, regaining her confidence. She didn't exactly know why._

 _The voice continued to make Emily shiver. "Ah, well, I can't fix that."_

 _Emily hissed, "Yes, you can. If you have the power to do that-"_

 _"Doesn't mean anything, sweetie." He spoke with a tone that turned Emily's blood to ice. "But why don't you join him?"_

 _Emily began to turn into dust, part by part, and she screamed. She screamed for help, she screamed for her father, she screamed for her mother. Tears were coming down her face as she began to turn to little pieces of dust. It burned, and it hurt, and she screamed one last time as all three- the boy, the girl, and the voice- were laughing..._

As soon as she heard that, Emily woke up, sweating. She smelled something in the kitchen: it was most likely her breakfast that Athena made her. She touched her face, hoping that it was dry, but finding that it was actually wet. She dried it off with her blanket, and changed for the Choosing Ceremony.

She looked at herself in the mirror in the room and saw a girl with blonde hair, and blue eyes that were shining with tears. She saw herself look like a three-year old again, and it didn't look right. People were waiting for her to break down after that one year of talking to demigods and whatnot.

 _I will not cry,_ she thought. _I will stay strong._

She took quick shower, and wore clothes with a lot of pockets. Without thinking, she began to put almost all of her weapons (well, the small ones) into her pockets. She saw a shimmer in the back of her closet, and saw that it was a sword. She picked it up as she saw that it wasn't normal. It was a combination of both celestial bronze and imperial gold, and as soon as she put her hand on it, it turned into a bracelet, which she put on.

"Uh..." Emily said, not sure how to use it.

At that moment, Athena decided to walk into her room, wondering why Emily was taking so long, and saw the bracelet on her hand. It was golden and silver, with a little charm on it that seemed to look like a simplified version of an owl. Athena seemed to smile, as Emily, startled, turned around and saw her mother.

"Good morning, mom." she said, raising the bracelet. "How do I make this a sword again?"

Athena took a good look at the bracelet and said, "It will only work in times of danger. But it will stay a bracelet until you are threatened."

"Well, that's useful." Emily said sarcastically.

"It is." Athena replied, not even noticing Emily's sarcastic tone. "It's called Tharros, and it should protect you with fearlessness. That's why it can't be used all the time, because it would mean an unstoppable demigod."

"Tharros- courage." Emily muttered. She looked up and began to speak normally again. "Thanks, mom. I love you." She gave Athena a quick kiss on the cheek before walking out of her bedroom to the kitchen.

* * *

 _This was the choosing ceremony?_

This was what Emily was thinking when she saw the place where the Choosing Ceremony would be. There were chairs all placed inside of a circle that they would all be standing in. As Emily stared at the front of the room, she saw a stage with five huge bowls, each filled with a special object. The bowl for Amity had soil in it, the bowl for Erudite had water in it, the bowl for Candor had glass in it, the bowl for Abnegation had pebbles in it, and the bowl for Dauntless (which she was very interested in) had hot coals in it. It seemed too simple to be a ceremony that forced 16-year-olds to make a life-changing decision.

Athena wasn't here, since she respected Emily's choice (she told her this morning). She was standing around the huge circle, and her feet were getting tired because of the two daggers (one Imperial Gold and one Celestial Bronze), a bag of ambrosia, and a bottle of nectar (a fairly small one). The combined weight of the daggers made her jacket really heavy. The bag of ambrosia made it look like she had a huge lump of something in her pocket, and the nectar was making another huge lump.

They were waiting for the rest of the Abnegation to come in, before the ceremony could start. They were just taking their time as they walked up the stairs. The people near her (who were mainly Erudites) were whispering and laughing about the Abnegation.

As soon as the last Abnegation walked in, the Ceremony began with a little speech of some sort (Emily was falling asleep), and then the actual ceremony began.

"Li, Nick." A boy with short, black hair and near-golden eyes walked up to the stage in his red clothing, which stood out because of his pale skin. The clothing seemed to be way too big on him as he stumbled to the bowls. He picked up the knife that was handed to him, and made a cut as he glanced up at his parents. He took a deep breath and dripped his blood into the Amity bowl.

There was some clapping as he left and the Amity representative said, "Jones, Elizabeth." A girl with short blonde hair and brown eyes walked up to the stage, and without hesitation, she took the knife and dripped her blood into the Dauntless bowl. She was Candor before. More clapping and cheering.

Emily stood there, frozen, as she waited for the representative to call her name. Finally, after many, many names, she heard it.

"McGarr, Emily."

Emily walked up, pushing her glasses up. She walked up the stage and took the knife. She put it to her wrist and made a fairly shallow cut, but it was enough for the blood to start dripping. She closed her eyes as she saw that drop of blood starting to droop down...

She shifted her hand a bit and heard the sizzling of coals as her blood began to drip onto it. She opened her eyes and saw that she was now away from being protected by others.

She was now on her own.

* * *

 **And this is where Dauntless initiation begins, and it is off of the topic about this weird before-the-initiation scene.**

 **Believe me, you'll know who the laughing people are.**

 **See you soon!**

 **(By the way, I was wondering if the Greek word was correct. I depended on Google Translate, but that's not reliable.)**

 **-LightStars**


	5. Chapter 4

**And next and next and next and next.**

 **I still don't own PJO or Divergent.**

* * *

Chapter 4

 _Location: Somewhere away from the Hub..._

It was a dark room. A room filled with computers everywhere, and the computers were showing footage of the Choosing Ceremony. However, the largest screen, which was in the center, was showing the same footage over and over again: when Emily cut her hand and let her blood drop into the Dauntless bowl. It was silent, at least, until a voice, trembling with fear, said:

"She chose what we wanted her to choose, didn't she?"

"Yeah. We have the spies in place, and the reporter is scheduled to come right after the attacks. I believe we will then have a good reason to kill her." The person said these words with anger and bitterness. "We have sent her the dream. She may believe that all of it is true, but she doesn't know that there is no mysterious force. There's just me."

"Miss?"

"Yes?"

"Why do you want to kill her so badly?"

There was a slight pause as the master thought about this. "She's the leader, or the one who has power, over a group that is trying to fight against us. We need her dead to break the group up. That is exactly why. Once she is dead, we can take over the factions."

"Who do you sound like you don't believe in this?" The person's voice was filled with curiosity.

"Well, why don't you shut up?" she snapped.

"Is it because of the picture on your desk? I believe that it has something to do with that. I swear on the River Styx. If I'm incorrect, kill me now."

There was a long period of silence before the master whispered, "You're fired from your assistant position. Take your stuff and go to the servant's headquarters. I don't want to see you again."

The ex-assistant gulped and gave a little bow. "Yes, miss. I'm sorry for interrupti-"

"Leave!" she yelled, pointing at the door. Her eyes were filled with anger as she glared at the poor servant. He bowed one last time as he walked away.

* * *

Emily felt like the rest of the Ceremony was like a blur. Nothing seemed important anymore, especially after her choice. Dauntless. She was Dauntless now. She would have to erase the memories of her Erudite past and become what she really wanted to be.

She sighed as she took her seat in the Dauntless section. The rest of the Ceremony seemed to take minutes, when it really took about an hour. She went back to reality after the Dauntless began to get up and leave. They stood up, and ran out the door like they were wild animals. Emily smiled as she stood up and ran, faster than most of the Dauntless.

One of the transfers, a Candor, whistled as he ran as fast as Emily. "Never expected a Erudite to run so quickly. I expected them to be slower than everyone else, since you always have those huge books to carry."

"Shut up." Emily snapped. She continued to run, ignoring the Candor kid.

They ran down the stairs, and it was then when the whoops and shouts began. It was a chaotic scene, especially when two of the Dauntless ended up carrying one of their partners as they ran down the stairs as fast as they could. Emily had to run faster than every before to keep up with the Dauntless, which is pretty fast.

The people at the back of the crowd were either the young Dauntless, or the transfers. Well, _all_ the transfers except for Emily. She was somewhere in front, and by the looks of it, the transfers were just taking their time.

But Emily never felt so free. As she ran, she forgot about everything that was happening in her life, and relaxed for the first time in years. At least, that was until she heard herself say, "Careful planning and intelligence gets you further."

That was something that she never heard. It somehow just slipped out of her mouth, and the Dauntless that was right next to her laughed. "Careful planning will never get you anywhere." he said as he continued to run faster.

Emily frowned. But it got her here. Careful planning and thinking got her into this faction.

Yet again, Dauntless was about strength and bravery. And it was nothing about planning and thinking, unlike Erudite.

The Dauntless ran out the door, and Emily was greeted with slightly wet air. She stopped running for a second, and took a few deep breaths, and continued running after her new faction. However, she saw a flash of hair that looked like it was white, and froze.

 _Laughter. Laughter, but it wasn't the one that a person would make if they were happy._

 _This was the laughter that one made if they saw the world burn to the ground._

The flash was gone. It just seemed to appear and disappear, but it made Emily's blood run cold. She blinked a few times (and pushed up her glasses). _I'm dreaming. It's not the girl who turned both my dad and I to dust. No, no._

 _But yet again, she still could be._

Emily continued to feel chills down her back as she realized that what she said earlier was correct. If her enemies were here, she would need careful thinking to outsmart them. She cursed as she ran to one of those poles that helped support the train tracks, and climbed.

Once she reached the top of the pole, she took a look at the Dauntless. They were like a sea of black clothing, carrying along people who wanted to join that sea. Emily looked at her blue clothing, and realized that it was much, much lighter than before.

She began to panic when she took a look at her pockets. Both daggers were gone, and the bottle of nectar was leaking. Emily cursed again as another transfer, which was Amity this time, walked up to her and said, "Are you okay? You look like you just found a dead body."

Emily scowled, clearly annoyed at herself. "I'm fine." she replied, the scowl still on her face. The Amity girl looked a bit shocked, thinking that Emily was annoyed at her. Emily, realizing her mistake, smiled (or tried to), and added, "I'm not annoyed at you. I swear."

"In that case, that's fine." she said. "Name's Jessica."

Emily nodded a bit. "My name is Emily." As soon as she said that, she heard a whistle, and the train came. It was a silver train, and it seemed to be gliding on the tracks. The doors opened and the trained slowed, and the Dauntless began to jump on the train like a bunch of graceful dancers.

More and more Dauntless jumped into the train, and Emily and the rest of the transfers were just the last ones to jump on. Most of them decided to take a running start, and they jumped into the train without many issues. Emily took in a deep breath and ran, before jumping into the train. She slammed her arm into the door, making it throb with pain. She was most likely going to get a bruise there now.

But she sat on the train, and by the looks of it, almost everyone got onto the train.

Except for the Candor kid.

* * *

 **And that's the end! :)**

 **-LightStars**


	6. Chapter 5

**And we continue!**

 **I don't own Divergent or PJO. Still.**

* * *

Chapter 5

Emily was sitting on the train floor, as she watched the city pass by. It seemed so peaceful, compared to the Dauntless. It seemed so beautiful, the peace that was unlike her own life. It seemed so calm, unlike everything else.

She took off her glasses and stared at it, analyzing every little part of it. It wasn't broken or anything, and it was just in one, whole piece, even after all these years. Emily sighed as a voice right next to her asked, "What are you doing?"

It was Jessica. At this rate, her voice was starting to become familiar (and a little annoying) to her. Emily put her glasses back on and said, "Nothing, just bored."

It was the wrong answer. Jessica's face seemed to brighten as she nearly yelled, "Let's play a hand game! It goes like..." She began to indicate how the game was played, and Emily was about to yell at her; to tell her to shut up, at least, until she realized that Jessica was once Amity. This was normal for her. She just had to deal with it until the instincts were all gone.

So as Jessica was chatting and talking, Emily just nodded like she understood, and and stared out the window, thinking about the issues in her life.

* * *

"I think we're here." Jessica said to Emily, who saw the doors of the train open. They were greeted with a view of the roof of a building, and it was covered in gravel. The Dauntless in front of the train were jumping off, and the roof was coming closer and closer...

And then it was in front of them. They saw how big the roof was- but then the building ended in what looked like a sudden drop. But they weren't thinking about that- their goal was to jump off the train and to somehow make it on the roof, which was far, far away.

They all seemed to just stare at the roof, and time seemed to slow down as well, at least, until an Erudite nearly pushed them out of the train and jumped out himself. He seemed to jump with grace and agility, and Emily was curious. An Erudite, a person who spent all their life surrounded by books, jumped with grace and agility. This was new.

Finally, all of them began to jump off the train with nervousness. They had to go quickly now, since they were just frozen with shock before.

Jessica and Emily seemed to stare at each other. "I'm not going alone." Jessica said, her brown hair flying wildly in the air.

"I'm glad we have similar minds. I'm not going alone either." Emily replied as they seemed to hold each other's hand without thinking. They took a look at each other, and jumped off of the train.

It was a wonderful sensation. The wind was blowing right in her face, but she appreciated it. The feeling of falling, but going forwards at the same time, was an unusual feeling that she liked. But it was over in a mere three seconds, and Emily rolled on the gravel to prevent herself from getting injured.

Jessica, however, wasn't so lucky. She landed right on her palms, and it left her skin peeling off of the palms of her hand. She cringed when she saw the skin, but saw Emily and managed a smile. "Well, I suppose this isn't even an injury in Dauntless. I'll live." she said.

"Yeah, well, want some nectar?" Emily asked. "I'm pretty sure I can give up a bit."

"No, it's fine." Jessica replied, standing up. "I don't want you to waste it." She seemed fine now, other than the fact that her hands were all injured.

"Well, then, let's go join them. I think they're ready to do something." Emily said, fixing her glasses as she walked over (without Jessica) to the group of transfers and Dauntless. It was like trying to blend in an ocean of darkness, but Emily didn't mind. She managed to squeeze between most of them before reaching the front of the group.

The Dauntless leader was standing on a ledge, and Emily felt like a cold hand was squeezing her heart. She was the girl in her dream, the one with the nearly white hair. But she looked perfectly happy in her Dauntless clothing, her posture perfect, and her voice loud and clear.

"Welcome to Dauntless," she began. "My name is Katarina, but you can call me Kat. I am a Dauntless leader, and I see that you have passed the first test- jumping off a train. You will now have the second test." She pointed at the blank space behind her. "This is the entrance to Dauntless. If you are brave enough to jump off this ledge and into the pit, you will immediately be part of our initiation, and you will be able to see what happens in Dauntless."

There was silence when one of the Candor boys asked, "You want us to jump off this ledge, and into the pit that's somewhere down there?"

Kat replied with a simple, "Yes."

Emily didn't know how she felt. Some of the other transfers were asking other questions, but she felt like staying silence would help her. However, she still felt that cold hand that was still gripping her heart, and it was a combination of being terrifying, as well as exciting, at the same time.

Finally, there were no more questions for the transfers to ask, and Kat stepped off of the ledge, and asked, "Who would like to jump off first?"

There was silence as Jessica and Emily shared a glance. _Go,_ Jessica seemed to say. Emily began to protest with her eyes, when Jessica gave her a shove, and she was forced to go first.

Kat smiled. "Excellent. I take it that you know what to do."

"Yes, I do." Emily replied, stepping on the ledge. She looked down and saw nothing but darkness. There might be water down there, or something else. But no time to think about what was down there now. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and counted to three. When she got to the number three, she took off and felt that wonderful sensation of falling and moving again as she fell into the pit.

* * *

 **Okay, I realized that this was confusing, but any questions could be asked through:**

 **a) Private messaging**

 **b) Reviewing**

 **So go ahead! :D**

 **See you soon!**

 **-LightStars**


	7. Chapter 6

**I still do not own PJO or Divergent.**

* * *

Chapter 6

Emily closed her eyes as she fell into the pit. Where would it lead her? And most importantly, what would she fall on?

She enjoyed the sensation while it lasted, though. It was, somehow, still a wonderful sensation after experiencing this for multiple seconds, which should be enough to make her get used to it. However, it was not only a wonderful sensation, it was still a new sensation. She smiled a bit as she felt her body hit something.

That was when she felt pain shooting from her chest and hands, and opened her eyes. She was still moving somehow, but she wasn't moving at the same time. She laughed and saw what she was on: a net. It was a net, made with rope and patience, and she crawled off the net with ease. She landed on her feet, and saw an initiate instructor walking to her.

It was a boy, with black hair and blue highlights. There were piercings in his ear, and tattoos covering his arm. His hazel eyes glittered in the light from above, and he was tall. He looked strong as well, and Emily could do nothing but wave.

"Hello, initiate." he said, extending his hand. "I believe I will be the only formal person you will meet. But my name is Amil. Call me Am if you want. I won't mind."

Emily shook it nervously. She didn't know if she needed to squeeze his hand or just let him do the movement. So it ended up becoming an awkward shake as she managed a smile and said, "Name's Emily."

"Well, Emily, I suppose you'll have a special place in Dauntless." he turned around and yelled, loudly, "First jumper is Emily!" There was a sudden outburst of roaring and screaming, and Emily found it easier to clear her mind after this loud outburst. She smiled as Jessica screamed a loud scream as she fell down and into the net.

Am turned around and nodded at Emily. "Welcome to Dauntless."

* * *

 _Oh my gods,_ Emily thought as she sat at one of the tables in the cafeteria. They just had a tour of Dauntless Headquarters, and now, they were just eating dinner. The cafeteria was packed with people in black clothing, and they seemed to be having an awesome time.

This was beautiful for Emily and the initiates. They were free. And this sea of black clothing was a friendly reminder that they were now out of their parents' control, and they were here. But most of them knew that they had one parent to worry about- their godly parents.

Emily didn't care about that. She just enjoyed the way that the Dauntless talked to each other with such familiarity, even if what they spoke was unfriendly. They were this one big family that did everything together, and this was beautiful, the thought that she would be able to join them in this world.

She smiled and took her dinner with Jessica. A hamburger was enough to keep her full- Emily didn't eat much.

Jessica took a bite of her own burger. "So," she began, her mouth full. "Remember when Am told us that we were going to fight? Let's hope that we don't fight against each other."

Emily swallowed her bite of burger. "Exactly what I was thinking. And let's hope that we'll both get into Dauntless, and not one of us. Because if you're going, I'm going as well."

"I have to say the same." Jessica replied, smiling as she took another bite.

This conversation went on and on, and they didn't even realize that the Dauntless were starting to leave for whatever. Emily took her final bite and stood up, and Jessica, who finished her burger long before Emily, said, "Let's go. We don't want anyone to yell."

They both stood up and walked back to where they were sleeping, where the initiates were already doing their own thing. Emily looked around and after a while, she told Jessica, "Five Erudite, including me, four Candor, and you."

Jessica flashed a confident smile. "And this is why I'm special."

"Oh please," Emily said, laughing. "But just a quick question."

"What?" Jessica asked.

"Who is your godly parent? Or are both parents a demigod or mortal?" Emily asked, eager.

Jessica shrugged. "It's a pretty useless goddess."

"Nobody in the Greek world is useless." Emily replied. "Listen, no matter how much you think your parent is useless, they might not be."

Jessica sighed. "I just don't want to talk about it. Let's just say that I can create vines and whatnot."

 _Demeter_ , a voice in Emily's head said. Emily was now confused. If Jessica was a daughter of Demeter, how was she useless? Demeter was the goddess of farming and harvest, and it allowed them to get food. Most children of Demeter stayed in Amity...

And was useless in Dauntless.

Emily understood. Jessica would feel useless here, unless she was excellent at fighting or whatnot. This resulted in an arm around Jessica's shoulder.

Jessica stared at Emily, surprised. "What are you doing?" she whispered., trying not to gain attention.

"I understand." Emily whispered back. "I understand what you feel. It's confusing, I know. You don't need to tell me, but I think I know already."

Both girls sat on the bed in silence, before they had to go and sleep to get ready for the next day.

Shooting.

* * *

 **Yay! :D And that's finished for now. It might be fairly short (and fast paced as well), and I understand. If you haven't noticed, I will be following the schedule which is posted on my profile, which means that this story will be updated every Sunday and Wednesday.**

 **Please review!**

 **-LightStars**


	8. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

It has come to my attention that Courage has always been a mediocre fanfiction, that it was never up to my own standards that I have set up for myself today. Maybe it was perfect back then, a story of murder (and Divergent!), but I believe that it can be rewritten to be a better story with a complex plot and plan.

I have scratched the plan that I wrote back then, believing that it was too childish, that it was nothing but a simple plot that wasn't going to entertain anyone.

If you would like to continue writing this story, PM me with the story title of your sample work (I do like it with details), and you will have complete ownership of the story while I continue planning for another.

I have also deleted The Death of a Million (because I had no idea how to continue it), but Night of Chaos, as well as The Other Side of You will be continued (Because of friends, and because of even more friends).

Thank you, and I'm sorry for this.

Love,  
LightStars (Who's terribly sorry)


End file.
